7,000 gallons of raw sewage spill onto Cape Coral street

Thousands of gallons of raw sewage was released into a Cape Coral neighborhood Tuesday night.

A subcontractor hit a water main at the intersection of Chiquita Boulevard South and SW 50th Street, releasing 7,000 gallons into the street.

A small cloudy brown puddle remains, with patches of sludge and bright white spots of lime. Flies surround the cleanup area.

The City of Cape Coral says a contractor hired by MasTec to work on a project for CenturyLink hit a 10-inch water main.

"Things happen, and I think they're fine; they were right on top of it," said Rick Barnes.

Barnes watched as crews worked for hours to clean up the spill.

"I give them credit; they were out here until I think 4 o'clock this morning and they were right on it," he said "They had all kinds of equipment. I was out there until midnight."

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection responded to the spill. Lime was applied to disinfect the soil, and the water that entered the storm drain was vacuumed. DEP said 1,000 gallons were recovered from the storm drain.

Drinking water was not affected, but the City of Cape Coral said 3,500 gallons of wastewater drained into the Traveler Canal, something Barnes didn't know had happened.

"I was surprised to hear that because I was out here and I didn't smell anything," he said.

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